Abstract
It is crucial to control the temperature of solar cells for enhancing efficiency with the increasing power intensity of multiple photovoltaic systems. In order to improve the heat transfer efficiency, a microchannel heat sink (MCHS) with V-ribs using a water-based nanofluid as a coolant for micro solar cells was designed. Numerical simulations were carried out to investigate the flows and heat transfers in the MCHS when the Reynolds number ranges from 200 to 1000. The numerical results showed that the periodically arranged V-ribs can interrupt the thermal boundary, induce chaotic convection, increase heat transfer area, and subsequently improve the heat transfer performance of a MCHS. In addition, the preferential values of the geometric parameters of V-ribs and the physical parameters of the nanofluid were obtained on the basis of the Nusselt numbers at identical pump power. For MCHS with V-ribs on both the top and bottom wall, preferential values of V-rib are rib width , flare angle , rib height , and ratio of two slant sides , respectively. This can provide sound foundations for the design of a MCHS in micro solar cells.
Highlights
With the rapid increase of concentrated multiples in the photovoltaic system, it is crucial to improve the efficiency of micro solar cells by controlling cell temperature
Cai [23] conducted a numerical investigation on the heat transfer in microchannel heat sink (MCHS) with different shapes of offset ribs on sidewalls and indicated that the offset ribs result in significant heat transfer enhancement
It is known from most existing MCHSs that the width–height ratio W/H of the microchannel is generally smaller for larger cooling areas because more identically-sized side walls can be arranged in the MCHS
Summary
With the rapid increase of concentrated multiples in the photovoltaic system, it is crucial to improve the efficiency of micro solar cells by controlling cell temperature. An effective approach to decrease the temperature of a photovoltaic module is to equip a specialized cooling system [1,2,3,4,5]. Thereafter, a variety of approaches to elevate the heat transfer performance of MCHS were proposed, such as various shapes of microchannels [11,12], complex manifold geometries [13,14], double/multi-layer MCHSs [15,16,17] and interrupted microchannels [18,19]. Wang [21] performed a parametric investigation on the MCHS with slant rectangular ribs. Behnampour [22] studied the heat transfer enhancement of MCHS with triangular, rectangular and trapezoidal ribs. The numerical results showed that the triangular ribs have the highest criteria value of thermal performance evaluation.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
